Door moving mechanism



Nov. 18, 1969 c. L. ESTES DOOR MOVING MECHANISM 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 FiledJuly 2, 1968 INVENTOR. [mus Lsrs Nov. 18, 1969 c. ESTES 3,478,469

DOOR MOVING MECHANISM Filed July 2, 1968 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Z8 5:,- 14 mimINVENTOR. BY 0mm Lia/'59 m/X [43m Nov. 18, 1969 c. ESTES DOOR MOVINGMECHANISM 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed July 2, 1968 R 03 m m H M Fm 1.4., a QN. 1 Z M2 w R M a #7 \v M AINM. SQ MP3 United States Patent 3,478,469DOOR MOVING MECHANISM Cyrus L. Estes, 15118 S. Budlong Ave.,

Gardena, Calif. 90247 Filed July 2, 1968, Ser. No. 741,979 Int. Cl. Ed15/22 US. Cl. 49-199 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Remote-operableshuttle mechanism can be coupled to movable panel or door to open andclose same as by remote control; usable for example with overheadgaragetype doors, or paired closures swingable on vertical hinges, orhorizontally slidable upright panels, louvers, etc. A generally straighttrack formed of cylindrical bar or tube stock carries one axiallyslidable collar for each door, each collar being fixed to a closed-loopcable which cable spacedly lies along opposite sides of the track. Thecable is alternately drawn in one direction or the other by a reversibleelectric gear motor so as to move the collar reciprocably along thetrack. Each collar is also pivotally connected to a movable panelby apull rod for overhead door, in which case the track is located above andhorizontally perpendicular to closed position of door when the latter isupstanding; when the track is parallel to the closed position of pair ofupright side-hinged swinging doors, each door is lever-attached to adifferent slide collar on the same track. For sliding doors, collar onparallel, overhead track is attached to topof door which slides or rollsin lower channel. Motor control means are operable at will by each ofradio signal, by limit means carried on cable, or manual switch, andinclude solenoid-operated ratchet-drum relay unit carrying succession ofcontact lugs which are programmed for continuous sequence of start,stop, reverse, stop, start, stop, etc., of motor.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a comparativelysimple assembly which, as noted in the foregoing abstract, is readilyinterchangeable or adaptable to dilferent types of doors which may bealready hung, so as in effect to be essentially interchangeable betweendifferent types of movable panels which are intended to be opened andshut in 'difierent manners. For example, the present remote-operated andmotor-driven shuttle assembly can be used to operate an overhead garagedoor, or a simultaneously-swinging pair of gates, or one or more panelsor doors which are rollable or slidable in any plane, etc.

Doors or gates, both indoors and out, have long been motor-operated,including overhead garage doors which are triggered by radio controlfrom the owners vehicle. However, there have been numerous shortcomingsin the various known constructions, including: the high torque motorsrequired to operate swinging gates; sorew-and-nut type overhead doorchannels will bind when subjected to small lateral force; reel-in cableswill snag or drag clogging material into their housing; sprocket drivesare subject to frequent misalignment, as well as being noisy; a trackperpendicularly attached to the door header may let the pull-barjackknife (and lock) in the open position, but if the track is slanteddownward to avoid this, the door may open only incompletely or scrapethe top of the automobile. In particular, an operating assembly whichcould be coupled to an overhead door could not be used or transferred,for example, to a pair of swinging doors, or even (in most cases) to asliding door. In addition, heavy and complicated units require strongreinforcing and attachment to basic structural elements, particu-3,478,469 Patented Nov. 18, 1969 "ice larly when mounted overhead, butthey still demand precise or delicate alignment in order to providesemicontinuous operation. Accordingly, it is an object of the presentinvention to eifect these and related problems in a favorable manner,vand to provide a highly effective, lightweight, simple and easilyinstalled door-operating shuttle.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention provides anelectrically-operated shuttle assembly for opening and closing single ordouble doors (by remote signal, if desired), which assembly consistsessentially of (1) an elongated track provided by cylindrical bar ortube stock, one end of which may remain free-hanging or loose in orderto obtain advantage of its longitudinal flexibility; (2) a closed-loopcable spaced from and generally parallel to, opposite sides of thetrack; (3) an axially slidable collar (one for each door) movable alongthe track and (usually pivotally) secured to a lever arm or draw-barwhich is distally connected to a door, the cable being rotatable on thetrack to the extent of easily accommodating operating strain andflexibility of the track; and (4) an electrical unit consisting oftransformer, reversible gear motor and stepping relay, which relay isresponsible at will to cable-carried stop means or to distant electricalsignals such as tuned RF transmissions, or a manually operated switch(which may be in the same or a distant building). Included are aparticularly effective, cooperating pair of flexible contact units, oneof which is cable-carried and the other stationary, for transientlyclosing a circuit when the cable is drawn in one direction past aselected point of the stationary unit, and which does not effect thecircuit when the cable is retracted past the same point in the oppositedirection.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIGURE 1 is a vertical section througha portion of a vertical-tilting lift-type garage door and header,showing in elevation the door-raising shuttle mechanism, the partiallyopen position in phantom.

FIGURE 2 is a vertical sectional view through the leftend portion ofFIGURE 1, shown in larger scale.

FIGURE 3 is a bottom plan view of an intermediate length of FIGURE 1, asviewed along the line 3-3.

FIGURE 4 is a top plan view of the assembly of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 5 is a schematic diagramof the electrical circuit.

FIGURE 6 is a horizontal sectional view taken through the adjacentsupporting walls on opposite sides of a pair of horizontally swinging,vertical doors, showing in top plan view, my shuttle assembly connectedsimultaneously to move the two doors between open position (indicated inphantom) and closed position.

FIGURE 7 is a side elevational view of the assembly of FIGURE 6, withthe pair of doors in closed position.

FIGURE 8 is a horizontal sectional view through adjacent walls on eachside of a parallel, vertically suspended pair of sliding doors which inoperation are moved lengthwise together or apart by the shuttlemechanism which appears in top plan view.

FIGURES 9 and 10 are sectional views through the support shelf ofFIGURES 1 and 4, the one view perpendicular to the other, andparticularly showing the pair of flexible contact units, one carried bythe cable and the other upstanding from the shelf, which form the limitor stop means.

FIGURE 11 is a view similar to FIGURE 1, particularly showing how thefree-hanging end of the shuttle mechanism flexes to get the opened doorout of a jackknife position in order to close it.

FIGURE 12 shows in vertical section and elevation, an upended shuttlemechanism connected to open and close a series of louvers.

DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT In the construction particularlyillustrated in FIGURES 14 and 11, the vertical door P, by a rearward,perpendicularly projecting bracket plate on its inner face, is pivotallyconnected at 11 to an elongated pull-rod 12 so as to be shiftable by thepresent shuttle mechanism between a standing position wherein itthrust-fills a doorway or opening 13 of an upright wall 14, and an openposition wherein it is withdrawn inward and moved tiltingly upward fromthe doorway 13 to a suspended position beneath and more-or-less parallelto a horizontal ceiling (if present).

The present shuttle assembly is here projected inward, generallyhorizontally from its fixed attachment to the building wall or headerabove the doorway 13. Its inner end 15 is free-hanging so as to beflexible to the extreme position 15a (FIG. 11) in the event that thedoor jackknifes (that is, the lower, forward edge tilts above the rear,inner edge when raised). A shelf 16, strut 18 and plate 17 form atriangular attachment with the plate 17 juxtaposed and bolted to theinner face of the door header or fixed wall 21 at 19, 20. A reversibleelectric motor 22 is secured to the inner face of the plate 17 by bolts23, 24 so as to vertically project a drive shaft 25 extending upwardthrough an opening 26 in the shelf 16 and carries a horizontallydisposed drive pulley 27 thereabove.

A tubular member 30 extends from the free end 15 to the support shelf16, being bolted onto the top of the latter at 31, 32. The tube 30 isangularly stepped or crocked at 34, and the resulting lower, shorterlength is vertically traversed by the shaft 36 of an idler pulley 37.Within the lower tube length 35, an eyebolt 38 (FIG. 2) disposes aneyelet end 39 about the shaft, with its outer threaded end 40 receivedthrough an apertured closure plate 41 of the tube 30, and carrying atightening nut 42. The pulley shaft 36 descending from above the tube 30traverses a spacer collar 43, then a pair of arcuate washers 44, 45which conformingly overlie opposite external faces of the tube, theshaft terminally carrying a fastening element or nut 46 on its lower,projecting threaded end 47. Accordingly, the whole cable loop 48 whichis led over the two pulleys 27, 37 can be drawn drawn taut simply bytightening the nut 42 on the outer end of eyebolt 38 so as to draw thepulley shaft 36 along the parallel aperture slots 54, of the tube. Theidler pulley 37 itself is located on the same level as the longitudinalmidplane of the longer and upper tube length or track 29, so that bothstretches of the closed loop or endless cable 48 carried by it will liealong the same midplane and spaced outward approximately equidistantfrom its respective sides (FIGURE 4).

The upper, longer tube length 29 thus forms a straight track whichcarries an axially slidable collar or track-follower 50 having aradially directed, downward projecting, paired or split lug 51 which ispivoted on the pull-rod 12 by a pin 52. The pivot pin 52 is retractableagainst the force of a compression spring 33 for easy assembly anddisassembly. The collar 50 is also formed with a laterallyoutward-projecting, apertured ear 53 which serves to anchor both ends ofthe cable 48. The cable 48 fixedly carries two flexible, trip-disks 49,59 (FIGS. 4, 9-10), which upon reciprocable movement of the cable, neareach end of travel one or the other of the disks contacts a limit switch56 or '60, both of which are on the platform 16. This momentarily closesan electric circuit through the respective switch. Such limit switchesmay simply be formed of a pair of upstanding, spring metal fingers '57,58 which are fastened to a flexible backing strip 28 of insulatingmaterial. The face a of each trip disk 49, 59 which is toward the idlerpulley 37 is also formed of insulating material, while the face b whichbridges the conducting strips 57, 58 is formed of conducting materialsuch as copper. The cable 48 axially traverses the disks 49, 59 and theynormally project radially or diametrically therefrom; they cannot becomelaterally disaligned by rotation about the cable. While the resultantcircuit closing of each limit switch serve to stop the motor 22, it willbe evident that the motor-drawn cable continues to carry the respectivedisk past the contact fingers 57, 58 for some distance before stopping.However, upon reversal of the motor and cable, the reverse face a of thedisk being drawn over the fingers will not this time close a circuit.

In the construction illustrated in FIGURES 6-7, the straight track 29ais located slightly above and generally parallel to the doorway 63 andto the closed position of a pair of vertical doors P1, P2 which aremounted on hinges 61, 62 so as to swing divergingly and to come togetherin unison into coplanar position. The track 29a is spaced inward fromupright wall sections 64, 65 on either side of the doorway 63 by meansof a pair of U- brackets 66, 67 located adjacent respective endsthereof. A reversible drive motor 68 and its reduction gear case 69 arealso fastened to the upright Wall 65 by a support bracket 70, with thedrive shaft 71 traversing or journalled in the horizontal track 29a tosupport the drive pulley 72 a small distance above the track. At theother end of the track, the upright shaft 73 of an idler pulley 74 issimilarly inserted through the track. Again, as shown in FIG. 2 for theprevious form, the cable loop 48a is tightened by means of the nut 42.

A continuous looped cable 48a is threaded over the two pulleys 72, 74.The track 29a carries two slide collars 75, 77, each formed with anupward and laterally extending attachment arm 76, 78 which areoppositely projecting outwardly from the track, and fastened torespective stretches of the cable 48a (FIG. 6). Thus, upon the cablebeing moved in one direction (counterclockwise) the collars 75, 77travel apart along the track oppositely; upon the cable being driven inthe other direction (clockwise), the collars move toward each otheralong the track. Each collar has a dependent turret 79, 80 holding adownwardly projecting pivot shaft 81, 82 on which one end of a lever arm83, 84 is pivoted. The other ends of the respective lever arms arepivotally attached to respective brackets 85, 86 of the doors P1, P2.Accordingly, the doors are swung open or closed as the motor 68 movesthe endless cable loop 48a one way or the other.

FIGURE 8 shows still another embodiment of the invention resulting fromapplying the shuttle assembly to opening and closing vertical doors P3,P4 such as a door which is shifted between open and closed positionsalong a slide track 88 or on rollers, while remaining parallel to anadjacent, upright wall 90. Again, a cylindrical rod or tube track 29b islocated adjacent the top of a doorway 87, by means of a pair ofsuspension arms 91, 92. A closed-loop cable 48b is led around a drivepulley 93 and idler pulley 94, both of which are supported above thetrack, and with both cable ends secured to a laterally extending,tensioning ear 95 of a slide collar or track follower 96 which axiallyembraces the track 29b. An oppositely projecting suspension arm 97 isterminally affixed to the inner face of the door P3, P4 so as to supportor carry it in its continuing upright position as it is slid out orrolled back and forth along the channel 88 by movement of the slidecollars 96 along the overhead track 2%.

With reference to FIGURE 5, a low voltage circuit D is formed through atransformer E and ratchet relay F, obtaining its AC line current fromleads 98, 99. The circuit may be closed by action of either of the triplugs 49, 59 in closing switch B; or alternately by a radio-controlledswitch A; or by a distant, manually operable switch C (which may belocated in a different building or in a different part of the samebuilding). The ratchet relay F comprises a solenoid S which turns aratchet wheel drum an arcuate integral or step each time the circuit Dis completed. The drum has a plurality of longitudinal channels adaptedto receive selectively-positioned lugs G, H, which upon each rotationalstep of the drum, trip a particular contact switch of the motor circuitK. Accordingly, the lugs are set to produce an endless succession orsequence (each change or step being effected by transient closing of thecircuit D) in the motor circuit K, which results in motor action 22 offorward, stop, reverse, stop, forward, stop, reverse, stop, etc. Suchstepping relays using ratchet drum units are commercially available, forexample, from Potter and Brnmfield, of Franklin, Kentucky. See US.Patents 2,872,536, 2,920,151,

2,992,378. The motor 22 (68) is of a type which may be reversed byreversing the polarity of the field windings; the polarity of the rotorcircuit'is not affected.

Thus it will be seen that whenever any one of the switches A, B, C isclosed, the solenoid S causes the ratchet drum F to advance to the nextposition which either closes or brakes the circuit K through the motor22; when it closes the circuit it will drive the motor 22 either forwardor reverse according to the position of the lugs G, H which are carriedon the ratchet drum. In other words, if the motor is running in reverse,the next signal from whatever source will stop it, the next signal willstart it forward, the next signal will stop it, the next signal willstart it in reverse, the next signal will stop it, etc. The signals fromswitch B of the self-operating limit switches 56, 60 will only occurwhile the motor is running; hence their elfect will always be to stopit. The signals from A or C can either stop or start the motor,depending on its previous condition.

FIGURE 12 illustrates still another utilization of the shuttle mechanismwherein the track 30 is mounted up standing from a horizontal base 100,with its free end 15b disposed at the top and its lateral attachment arm97a pivoted at 103 to the upright operating rod 101 of a series oflouvers L which are individually end-pivoted within a window opening102. Such an installation may be desired, for example, at an attic airinlet for an air conditioning unit (which is wanted closed while aheatpump is in operation during a cold period), or near the top of anelevator shaft where it is desired to have the louvers open during theday and closed at night, or at other times regulated by the presence ofmoisture in the air, or dust, or other factors. The combination of smalllongitudinal flexibility of the track 30, with the tranverse (rotary)self-adjustability of the slide collar 50 which carries the attachmentarm 97a, compensates for any minor misalignment or stiffness of movementof the louver rod 101, and also promotes quick, easy installation ofsuch a shuttle assembly. The cable carried trip lugs 59 can quickly belocated for he amount of movement possible for the louvers. It will beapparent also that the motor 22 and drive pulley 27 need not even be onthe same floor or level as the louvers as long as the operating rod 101and slide collar 50 can be coupled together. Thus the operating rod maybe several stories high and be connected to a different series oflouvers on each floor of the building. In perspective,'it will beappreciated also that the reciprocably movable element 101 need not be adoor, nor need it necessarily be pivoted to the article or structurewhich it is carrying back and forth, but may be fixed thereto as in thecase of the sliding doors of FIG- URE 8. Accordingly the invention isnot to be limited to the specific examples which are given herein by wayof illustration, but should be construed broadly within the terms of thefollowing claims.

I claim:

1. A mechanism of the character described comprising, in combination:

a longitudinal track of limited longitudinal flexibility projecting froma fixed end to a loose end disposed to accommodate said flexibility;

a reciprocably-movable follower retained on said track or movementtherealong, said follower being capable of lateral self-adjustment inmovement along the track;

an attachment arm having one end secured to said follower and having itsother end secured to a movable element such as a panel, whereby movementof the follower and connected attachment arm is effective to move saidelement in a predetermined path according to how the element is mounted;

a reversible electric motor;

pulley means including a closed-loop cable located generally parallel tothe length of said track and operatively connected to said reversiblemotor and to said follower for movement of the latter along the track;and

control means for selectively stopping, starting and reversing saidmotor, including limit means actuated by movement of said closed-loopcable lengthwise along said track for stopping said element adjacent theend of said predetermined path.

2. The mechanism of the. preceding claim 1 wherein said track is asubstantially straight, cylindrical member, said follower is a collar atleast partially rotatable and axially slidable lengthwise along saidtrack, and said pulley means includes a pair of pulley wheels disposedadjacent opposite ends of said track, with said closed-loop cable beingled over said pulley wheels and secured to said slidable collar.

3. The mechanism of the preceding claim 1 wherein said track is asubstantially straight member of limited longitudinal flexibility,disposed generally horizontally and inward projecting from above thedoorway of an overhead door to which said attachment arm is secured,with the inner end of said track being free-hanging.

4. The mechanism of the preceding claim 2 wherein there are two of saidcollars, each secured to a different point of said closed-loop cable soas to be jointly movable along the track toward and away from eachother, and each collar is coupled to an attachment arm which is adaptedto be connected to one of a pair of doors, whereby the two doors mayboth be opened or closed simultaneously by movement of the closed-loopcable in one direction or the other as eifected by said reversiblemotor.

5. The mechanism of the preceding claim 1 which additionally has stopmeans disposed at alternate positions for contact by said moving cable,which stop means comprise a pair of upstanding resilient,electrically-conducting fingers which are laterally spaced apart byinsulating means, and a resilient contact member carried by said cablein position to abut and bendingly pass over said fingers upon movementof the cable in either direction, which member is formed with onecontact face of insulating material and an opposite contact face ofconducting material, whereby the latter face may complete an electriccircuit through said fingers to the reversible motor when moving overthem in one direction and not when moving over them in the otherdirection.

6. The mechanism of the preceding claim 1 wherein said control meansincludes a stepping relay comprising a solenoid-operated ratchet drumcarrying a succession of contact lugs selectively positioned to start,stop and reverse said motor in repetitive sequence in response both tosaid limit means and to distant activation of said relay.

7. The mechanism of the preceding claim 3 wherein one of said pulleywheels has a shaft transversely intersecting said track and has meansfor adjustable movement lengthwise to the track whereby the closed-loopcable may be made taut by movement of said shaft.

8. The mechanism of the preceding claim 4 wherein each of said collarsare connected to an attachment arm, each of which arms is pivotallysecured to one of a pair of vertically hinged, swinging doors which arethus disposed to both open and both close in unison.

9. The mechanism of the preceding claim 4 wherein each of said collarsare connected to an attachment arm, each of which arms is secured to oneof a pair of vertically slidable doors which are thus disposed to bothopen and both close in unison.

10. Electrical switch means adapted to be operated by a reciprocablymoving cable and comprising a resilient contact disk carried by saidmoving cable in approximate axial attachment so as normally to projectgenerally diametrically therefrom, one face of the disk being ofconducting material and the other face being non-conductand a relativelystationary unit comprising a pair of upstanding resilient fingers ofconducting material spaced apart by insulating means and located inposition for said contact disk to abut and to bendingly pass over saidfingers from either direction upon movement of the cable, whereby theconducting face of the disk may complete an electric circuit throughsaid fingers when moving over them in one direction and not when movingover them in the other direction.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,053,172 9/1936 Young 49-108X2,056,174 10/1936 Earhuff et al 49362 X 2,905,463 9/1959 Borden 49-118X2,992,819 7/1961 Jackson 49199 X 3,207,501 9/1965 Schneider 49-28 X I.KARL BELL, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No.3,478,469 Dated November 18 1969 Inventor(s) Cyrus L Estes It iscertified that error appears in the above-identified patent and thatsaid Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

Column 6 line 2 "or" should read for Signed and sealed this 25th day ofMay 1971 (SEAL) Attest:

EDWARD M.FLETCHER,JR. WILLIAM E. SCHUYLER, JR. Attesting OfficerCommissioner of Patents FORM PO-1050 (10-69) USCOMM-DC 60376-P09

